Will Murtha Now Apologize For His Slander Against the US Marines?
The military announced the very sad news today that 8 marines were charged with crimes surrounding the Haditha incident in late 2005.
The BBC reported:
Lt Col Jeffrey R Chessani: Violation of a lawful order; dereliction
Sgt Sanick P Dela Cruz: Unpremeditated murder; false official statement
1st Lt Andrew A Grayson: Dereliction; false official statement; obstructing justice
Capt Lucas M McConnell: Dereliction
Lance Cpl Justin L Sharratt: Unpremeditated murder
Capt Randy W Stone: Violation of a lawful order; dereliction
Lance Cpl Stephen B Tatum: Unpremeditated murder; negligent homicide; assault
Staff Sgt Frank D Wuterich: Unpremeditated murder; soliciting another to commit an offence; false official statement
Reuters reported:
CAMP PENDLETON, California (Reuters) – The U.S. military charged four
Marines on Thursday with murder and four others on related charges in the
November 2005 deaths of 24 unarmed civilians in Haditha.The killings of the men, women and children is one of the most serious
allegations of misconduct against civilians by U.S. troops in Iraq. Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called the Haditha killings a “terrible
crime.”Along with the widely publicized abuses of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib
prison, the killings have damaged U.S. prestige and led to international
condemnation.Marine Corps squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich (pictures below), whose lawyer said
was charged with 13 counts of murder, led a squad investigated in connection
with the November 19, 2005 shootings in the western Iraqi town.
Wuterich’s attorney, Mark Zaid, said the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Others charged with murder are Sgt. Sanick Dela
Cruz, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt and Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum. The remaining
four are charged with failure to properly report and/or investigate the
deaths.“The reporting of the incident up the chain of command was inaccurate
and untimely,” Col. Stewart Navarre told reporters in announcing the
charges.The military investigation has centered on a squad of Marines led by
Wuterich, 26, who sued
Democratic Rep. John Murtha in August after he said U.S. troops
“killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”Once charged, the defendants are entitled to an Article 32 hearing, in
which a military judge would decide if there is enough evidence to convene a
court-martial. The schedule for the hearing has not been
set.Defense lawyers dispute that version of events and say the men
from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division were
engaged in a furious battle in Haditha after the bomb exploded and the civilians
may have died during the chaos.Two probes were launched into Haditha, one centering on the shooting
and another into whether officers attempted to falsify details of the
incident.
It wasn’t that long ago that anti-war Rep. John Murtha accused these marines of premeditated killing- “in cold blood” . The charges today demonstrate that none of the Haditha deaths were premeditated by the US marines.
Will Rep. Murtha apologize for slandering the marines?
Don’t hold your breath!!!
Others covering this closely:
Riehl World View
Michelle Malkin
Euphoric Reality
Sweetness and Light
